After a whirlwind (and cold) introduction to Stockholm, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ended the first day of their Scandinavian tour at the British Ambassador’s residence for a dinner party. The residence is serving as home base for the couple during their stay, thus making tonight’s logistics straightforward. They were joined once more by Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, who are acting as the couple’s official hosts, as well as a few notable Swedish public figures, including actress Alicia Vikander.
In addition to Ambassador David Cairns, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his wife were in attendance and sat down with William and Kate prior to the meal itself in an anteroom.
Reporter Rebecca English captured the party walking into the dining room:
More video from tonight’s black tie dinner #RoyalVisitSweden pic.twitter.com/xhKP1Wpi7Q
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) January 30, 2018
Based on the photos, it appears the dinner party was intimate, if formal, and beautiful. And the increasingly warm dynamic between William and Victoria was well on-display and lovely to see. If the goal of this trip was to enhance relations, then checkmate.
Now, let’s talk about this dress, because it’s drawing almost universally negative reviews thus far. Kate loves a bold print, a ruffle and a dress by Erdem, which this dress certainly delivers. In that sense, this a wholly unsurprising look for the Duchess. Even so, it’s interesting between the gold and the large floral print and I certainly wasn’t expecting it.
Much like I dock points for pieces overly duplicative, I tend to give more when Kate takes a risk. Because of that, I like this dress. I doubt this will end up getting a “best of” nod at the end of the year, for example, but I certainly don’t dislike it the way others seem to.
Another image captured by reporter Richard Palmer:
A photo from dinner earlier. pic.twitter.com/y2KudkehK2
— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) January 30, 2018
And with that, Day One is over! See you in the AM 🙂